By Larry Snyder

Farmington Hills, MI – The last time the Women of Steel stood on the gridiron was June 2019. Now the Pittsburgh Passion of the Women’s Football Alliance retakes the field and opens its season Saturday, April 9th, 2022, on the road against the Detroit Venom. The kick-off is 6:00 p.m. at the Hawk Community Center.

In March 2020, WFA preseason practices were underway, but the news of the COVID pandemic abruptly ended everyday activities. No one knew when the teams could play next and when the regular season might resume. The wait for the Pittsburgh football faithful is over.

Co-owner and co-head coach Teresa Conn has a young group of players ready to commence their Black and Gold careers. Former Passion All-Star quarterback Lisa Horton is the co-head coach and Offensive Coordinator, and Erik Keister serves as the Defensive Coordinator.

Key players returning to help put some points on the scoreboard include running back Arielle Smith, wide receiver Kia Foster, offensive lineman Brandy Polinick, Kimberly Zubovic, and Kaitlain Niedermeyer.

Helping to lead the defense are lineman Kay Campbell, Amanda Coles, Monica Richards, linebacker Hannah Daman, defensive backs Rebecca Ehrgood, Kara Prentice, and Ashley DiCicco.

New Special Teams Coordinator Javé Brown has the wide receiver duo of Ellie Mularski to help handle kick returns, while Jana Meister took care of the punting chores in the past.

Broadcast: The Venom has the game live on the DCTV website. Next Level, located on Direct TV on Channel 623, has the replay Sunday, April 10th at 6:00 p.m. You check on the game with the Score Stream App.

Weather: The radar calls for mostly cloudy skies early Saturday, with clearing later. The daytime high is supposed to hit 42 degrees, with the low at night dipping down to 29. There is a fiver percent chance of rain with winds out of the west to northwest at 12 mph.

Here is a look at the rest of the Passion schedule:

Saturday, April 30th – HOME Vs. Tri-State Warriors

Saturday, May 7th – Away At Boston Renegades

Saturday, May 14th – Away At Columbus Chaos

Saturday, May 21st – HOME Vs. Detroit Venom

Saturday, May 28th – HOME Vs. D.C. Divas

Gridiron Clipboard: Pittsburgh home games are at Joe P. DeMichela Stadium, part of West Allegheny High School in Imperial, PA. Contests get underway at 6:00 p.m. You can select your tickets online here.